Three arrested in two incidents in Carthage

Tuesday

Jan 15, 2013 at 9:29 AMJan 15, 2013 at 9:31 AM

A busy two days for one Carthage Police officer resulted in removing a quantity of methamphetamine, the person allegedly distributing it, and a man wanted for a number of felonies in neighboring counties from the streets.

John Hacker

A busy two days for one Carthage Police officer resulted in removing a quantity of methamphetamine, the person allegedly distributing it, and a man wanted for a number of felonies in neighboring counties from the streets.

Friday drugsDagnan said Moore was parked on the Gringo’s parking lot on Central Avenue at about 3:51 a.m. Friday when he spotted a vehicle traveling at an excessive rate of speed and going east into Carthage.

“It was a 2005 Dodge Neon and he got radar on it and clocked it at 50 miles per hour in a 30-mile-per-hour zone,” Dagnan said. “He stopped the guy at about the 700 block of Central Avenue and the car started rolling backward toward his patrol car. Nate backed up and avoided the collision before the car finally stopped.”

Dagnan said the driver, David B. Yang, 35, Joplin, told Moore he was headed to Branson, but a records check of his license showed it was suspended and he had no proof of insurance.

According to a written release from the police department, when he approached the vehicle, Moore noticed Yang holding something in his hand.

“Yang then concealed the item from the officer’s view,” the department said in its release. “The officer observed what appeared to be a plastic baggie in Yang’s hand and he then ordered Yang to drop the item. Yang then began tearing the baggie open and dumping the white crystal substance that was inside it onto the floorboard of the vehicle. “The officer deployed pepper spray to subdue Yang and remove him from the vehicle, and he was then placed under arrest for numerous traffic charges.

“The contents of the baggie were collected and were later tested, and the substance tested positive for methamphetamine. The contents of the baggie weighed approximately 6.5 grams. Other items that were recovered from the vehicle were consistent with those used in the distribution of narcotics.”

Yang was charged with possession with the intent to distribute a controlled substance and held on $10,000 bond.

Saturday felonThe second incident took place at 3:05 a.m. Saturday in the area of Grand Avenue and Fairview Avenue.

Dagnan said Moore spotted a two people, wearing dark hooded sweatshirts, walking in an alley in the area.

“This is a case where, if we see someone in a dark hooded sweatshirt, walking in an alley late at night, we’re going to stop and see what’s going on,” Dagnan said. “The officer drove up and made contact with the pair. It was a consensual contact with the woman. He said hey, can I talked to you, and the man walked on, but the woman came over and spoke to him.”

Dagnan said Moore learned enough from talking to the woman, later identified as Cynthia Crabb, 32, Monett, to know they were up to something, so he let the woman go and officers set up a perimeter around a wooded area near the Congregation of the Mother Coredemptrix and searched for him.

Using the department’s new infrared camera, officers spotted the man, later identified as Travis Jones, 36, Monett, and caught him after a short foot chase. “A criminal records check revealed that Jones had felony warrants out of Taney County Mo., for kidnapping/felonious restraint and domestic assault; felony warrants out of Barry County Mo. for possession of controlled substance and resisting arrest, and municipal warrants out of Cassville Mo. Police Department,” Carthage police said in a written release. “The warrants were confirmed as active and Jones was transported to the Jasper County jail where he is being held pending extradition on the above warrants.

“Crabb was also arrested for obstructing an officer by providing a false name when she was asked who the male subject was that she was with after it was determined that Jones was her boyfriend. She is currently being held at the Jasper County jail in lieu of posting bond on that charge.”